Sport

So we’re in the final. Who would have guessed that we would be facing England there, for the second time in the World Cup? The Bokke played well on Sunday. The forwards were fierce, led by great performances by Juan Smith, Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha. Os once again played out of his boots, even […]

The Springboks’ well-deserved win yesterday over Argentina in the Stade de France was built on three key pillars: a deadly instinct to take advantage of opposition errors; crushing dominance in the lines; and Jake White’s brilliant stratagem to suffocate the rather one-dimensional, albeit effective until then, style of play of the Pumas — a stratagem […]

Haban-a-killer, Haban-a-killer, Haban-a-killer … where is me glass? Sounds like a Jewish wedding … While Kobus Wiese was chatting to Corne Krige and Jeremy Guscott before the game, the butterflies were having a full go. Despite all the bravado I have to admit I was worried. That Argentinian scrum is lethal and so it proved […]

Potential. It’s often that little bit of something that many of us possess, but never maximise. An ingredient or two that steers us in a particular direction, begging to be fostered, nurtured and ultimately acted upon. Often it’s latent ability, so obvious that to consign it to the scrapheap of “unfulfilled potential” would be a […]

I was absolutely devastated by the All Blacks’ shock defeat against France on Saturday. I remember going to the bar for my fifth glass of champagne and thinking, “Isn’t this really all down to the IRB’s refusal to deal with reality?” Surely someone on the IRB board should stand up and be counted: Firstly, recognise […]

So there we were, chatting away at half-time of the Bok-Fiji clash on the weekend, somewhat secure in the knowledge that we would be progressing to the semifinal. A try just before the break had done nothing to dampen this enthusiasm. It was probably just a matter of time before we completely imposed ourselves on […]

Rodrigo Orihuela’s recent post about the importance of national anthems in sports reminded me that we South Africans need a new national anthem. The swell of pride that I feel when I hear the opening strains of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika at a rugby Test match is replaced by intense shame when 35 000 white throats start […]

Marcelo Loffreda, Argentina’s rugby coach, was happy at mid-week. The main reason was, obviously, that the Pumas’ victory over Ireland on Sunday enabled his team to top their pool — with the best defensive record in the World Cup — and therefore face Scotland in the second round instead of the All Blacks. Loffreda was […]